The master transcription factor Spo0A regulates sliding development in Bacillus subtilis

ROVETTO A., LOMBARDIA E., COULLERY R., GRAU R.

Mar del Plata

Congreso; SAIB; 2007

SAIB

Surface-associated motility such as swarming, sliding, twitching, gliding are of capital importance to understand the behavior not only of pathogenic but also of beneficial bacteria with plant-growth promoting activities and human friendly (probiotic) properties. Here, we demonstrate that sliding motility (a sort of surface-associatted motility independent of flagella) of B. subtilis undomesticated cells is was under the positive control of Spo0A and to a lesser extent, under the positive control of AbrB and SinR. Single spo0A minus cells were completely unable to slide, while single abrB and sinR mutants were partially defective in motility. However sliding phenotype was completely abolished in a double abrB-sinR mutant strain. Therefore, Spo0A was essential and AbrB and/or SinR were required for sliding motility. Interestingly, sliding motility was also under the strict control of Spo0A in the undomesticated Marburg-derived strain NCIB3610. This phenotype was clearly demonstrated by the inability of a NCIB 3610-derived hag mutant strain to slide in the absence of Spo0A production. Spo0A regulates production of the biosurfactan surfactin that apart from its antimicrobial and antiviral properties was essential for sliding motility as we show analysing the sliding behavior of surfactin-deficient cells in the absence and presence of synthetic biosurfactan.